JPH04278269A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to prevent inclination of a shutter member to the direction of slide when opening and closing operations are conducted by making an operating force act on a slide part. CONSTITUTION:In regard to a disk cartridge holding a disk 1 in a cartridge 2, a shutter member 8 for opening and closing an opening 6b for recording and reproduction is supported on the lateral side parts of the cartridge 2 by a slide part 9 made longer in the direction of slide than a shutter plate part 10b.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk cartridge which houses a disk such as a so-called optical disk or magneto-optical disk.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, disks for recording and/or reproducing information signals, such as so-called optical disks and magneto-optical disks, have been proposed. This disk has a disk-shaped disk substrate made of a material such as a transparent synthetic resin, and a signal recording layer is provided on one main surface of the disk substrate. The other main surface of this disc is a signal recording surface. That is, in order to record and/or reproduce information signals using this disc, a beam such as a laser beam is focused and irradiated onto the signal recording layer from the signal recording surface through the disc substrate. The information signal is written and/or read on this signal recording layer. The center portion of this disk is a chucked portion that is held by a so-called disk player device that writes and/or reads information signals to and from the disk. In this disc, the side around the chucked portion is the signal recording surface.

Conventionally, in addition to preventing damage to the disk due to adhesion of dust or contact with fingers, etc.,
In order to facilitate the handling of the disc, a disc cartridge has been proposed in which the disc is housed in a cartridge shaped like a housing.

[0004] In this disc cartridge, the disc housed in the cartridge is rotatable within the cartridge. A chucking opening is provided on one main surface of the cartridge so that the chucked portion of the disk faces outward. Further, a pair of recording/reproducing openings are provided on both main surfaces of the cartridge so that at least a portion of each of the main surfaces of the disk can be exposed to the outside across the inner and outer peripheries. That is, the disc player device holds the chucked portion through the chucking opening, and writes information signals to the signal recording layer through the recording/reproducing opening. and/or read out.

[0005] In order to protect the disc by preventing dust from entering the cartridge, the disc cartridge is provided with a shutter member that closes each of the recording/reproducing openings when not in use. It is used. This shutter member includes a pair of shutter plate portions each formed in a size capable of closing each of the recording/reproducing openings. The shutter member has one end portion supported by one side edge of the cartridge,
The cartridge is slidable along one side edge. The shutter member opens and closes each of the recording/reproducing openings by means of each of the shutter plate parts. This disc cartridge shutter can be constructed by bending a substantially rectangular metal plate.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When the shutter member as described above is installed in the disc player device, the shutter member receives a movement operation force from one end portion supported by one edge of the cartridge. Then, the slide operation is performed from a position where the recording/reproducing opening is closed to a position where the recording/reproducing opening is opened.

[0007] When the shutter member is slid by the disc player device in this manner, each of the shutter plate portions is located between the other free end portion of the shutter plate portion and the cartridge. Due to the frictional force, a force is applied that tilts the slide with respect to the direction of the slide. In order to downsize the shutter plate, the length of the shutter plate in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge is shorter than the length in the direction perpendicular to the one side edge of the cartridge. If the shutter member is formed in the same manner, as the shutter member slides, it is likely to tilt with respect to the direction of the slide. If the shutter plate section is tilted with respect to the sliding direction, the shutter member cannot slide smoothly with respect to the cartridge.

Further, when the length of the shutter plate portion in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge is made shorter than the length in the direction perpendicular to the one side edge of the cartridge, the length of the shutter plate portion is longer than the one end side portion of the cartridge. The shape is elongated toward the other end, making it difficult to form a flat plate.

Therefore, the length of the shutter plate portion in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge, that is, in the sliding direction of the shutter member, is longer than the length in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. It is formed.

However, when the length of the shutter plate in the sliding direction is increased, the movement locus of the shutter plate occupies a larger proportion of the main surface of the cartridge. When the movement locus of the shutter plate portion occupies a large proportion of the main surface of the cartridge, it is necessary to form a so-called positioning hole in the main surface of the cartridge.
It becomes difficult to attach labels, etc. Note that this positioning hole is for positioning the cartridge at a predetermined position within the disc player device. Further, the label is a piece of paper on which the contents of the information signal recorded on the disc are written.

Furthermore, by increasing the length of the shutter plate in the sliding direction, there is a possibility that the cartridge will need to be made larger. That is, the distance that the shutter plate can slide with respect to the cartridge is determined by the size of the recording/reproducing opening, so if the length of the shutter plate in the sliding direction is increased, the shutter This is because when the plate portion is slid, there is a risk that the plate portion may protrude from the side edge portion of the cartridge.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to miniaturize the shutter plate portion of the shutter member and to miniaturize the cartridge without making manufacturing difficult. An object of the present invention is to provide a disk cartridge in which the shutter member slides smoothly with respect to the cartridge.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the above-mentioned objects, a disk cartridge according to the present invention includes a disk, a disk cartridge that houses the disk, and a disk cartridge that stores at least a portion of both main surfaces of the disk. A cartridge having first and second recording/reproducing openings facing outward, a first shutter plate portion corresponding to the first recording/reproducing opening, and the second recording/reproducing opening. a second shutter plate portion corresponding to the second shutter plate portion, and a connecting portion connecting the proximal ends of the first and second shutter plate portions, and the connecting portion is attached to one side edge of the cartridge. a shutter member that is slidably supported in a direction along the section and opens and closes the first and second recording/reproducing openings, the connecting section having a protrusion that projects in the slidable direction; The length in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge is longer than the length in the direction along the one side edge of each of the shutter plate parts, and the insertion plate part provided on this protrusion is inserted into the cartridge. It is inserted into and supported by a groove provided on one side of the holder.

[0014]

[Function] In the disc cartridge according to the present invention, the connection portion of the shutter member, which is supported on one side surface of the cartridge that accommodates the disc so as to be slidable in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge, is slidable in the slidable direction. a protrusion, the length of which is longer in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge than the length of the shutter plate of the shutter member in the direction along the one side edge; Since the insertion plate provided on the cartridge is inserted into and supported by the groove provided on one side of the cartridge, the shutter plate is prevented from tilting in the sliding direction as it slides relative to the cartridge.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this example, a disk cartridge according to the present invention is constructed by housing a so-called magneto-optical disk used for writing and/or reading information signals.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, this disk cartridge is comprised of a disk 1 and a cartridge 2 that accommodates this disk 1. The disk 1 is a so-called magneto-optical disk, and is formed into a disk shape from a material such as a transparent synthetic resin, and includes a disk substrate with one main surface serving as a signal recording surface. A signal recording layer formed by depositing a magnetic material is provided on the other main surface of the disk substrate. That is, to write and/or read information signals to and from the signal recording layer of the disc 1, a light beam such as a laser beam is focused on the signal recording layer from the signal recording surface through the disc substrate. This is done by irradiating the area with water. This disk 1 is formed to have a predetermined diameter of, for example, about 64 mm.

At the center of the disc 1, there is a center that constitutes a chucked portion for holding the disc 1, which is used by a so-called disc player device for writing and/or reading information signals to and from the signal recording layer. A hole 1a and a disk hub 3 are provided. That is, in this disc 1, a portion of one main surface on the side surrounding the center hole 1a serves as the signal recording surface.

The center hole 1a is a circular hole penetrating from one main surface to the other main surface of the disk 1, and is formed substantially concentrically on the signal recording layer in a spiral pattern. The recording track is formed so that its center coincides with the center of curvature of a recording track formed in a shape. The disc hub 3 is made of a material such as a metal plate, and has the center hole 1a.
It is shaped like a disc with a slightly larger diameter. The disc hub 3 is substantially concentric with the center hole 1a so as to close the center hole 1a,
It is attached to the other main surface of the disk 1.

The cartridge 2 is formed into a thin, approximately rectangular housing so that the disk 1 can be housed by a pair of upper and lower halves 4 and 5 that are butted together. . That is, in this cartridge 2, the upper and lower main surfaces 4a and 5a along each main surface of the disk 1 have sides that are slightly longer than the diameter of the disk 1, for example, approximately 68 mm to 72 mm. It has a rectangular shape. The disk 1 is housed in the cartridge 2 with one main surface serving as the signal recording surface facing the lower half 5 and the other main surface facing the upper half 4. There is.

An opening 6a for an optical pickup device is provided on the lower main surface 5a, which is one main surface of the cartridge 2. The optical pickup device opening 6a is a substantially rectangular through hole, and extends from near the center of the lower main surface 5a to near one side of the lower main surface 5a, that is, from the vicinity of the center of the lower main surface 5a. It is provided near one side edge of the cartridge 2. This opening 6a for the optical pickup device exposes a part of the signal recording surface of the disc 1 to the outside across the inner and outer peripheries of the disc 1. When the disc player apparatus writes or reads an information signal to or from the signal recording layer, the optical pickup apparatus or the like transmits a light beam to the disc 1 through the optical pickup apparatus opening 6a. Perform irradiation.

Further, in the upper main surface portion 4a, which is the other main surface portion of the cartridge 2, an opening 6 for a magnetic head device is provided.
b is provided. This magnetic head device opening 6b
is a substantially rectangular through hole similar to the optical pickup device opening 6a, and is provided at a position opposite to the optical pickup device opening 6a. This opening 6b for the magnetic head device exposes a part of the other main surface of the disk 1 to the outside across the inner and outer peripheries of the disk 1. When the disk player apparatus writes an information signal to the signal recording layer, a magnetic field is applied to the disk 1 by a magnetic head apparatus or the like through the magnetic head apparatus opening 6b.

A substantially circular chucking opening 7 is provided at the center of the lower main surface 5a. This chucking opening 7 allows a portion to be chucked consisting of the center hole 1a and the disk hub 3 to face outward. The above disc player device is
The disc table is inserted into the cartridge 2 through the chucking opening 7 to hold the disc 1.

A shutter member 8 is attached to the cartridge 2. This shutter member 8 is
This is for opening and closing the opening 6a for the optical pickup device and the opening 6b for the magnetic head device. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, this shutter member 8 includes a first shutter plate portion 10a corresponding to the opening 6a for the optical pickup device, and an opening 6b for the magnetic head device.
For example, it has a second shutter plate part 10b corresponding to the second shutter plate part 10b, and a slider part 9 serving as a connecting part connecting the proximal parts of the first and second shutter plate parts 10a and 10b. It is integrally bent and formed from materials such as.

The slider portion 9 is formed into an elongated rectangular plate shape having a width approximately corresponding to the thickness of the cartridge 2. Each of the shutter plates 10a and 10b is formed into a rectangular shape that is slightly larger than the openings 6a and 6b, for example, about 0.3 mm, so that the respective openings 6a and 6b can be closed. It has a predetermined uniform thickness. Each of these shutter plate parts 10a and 10b has one end supported by the side edges of the slider part 9 in correspondence with the side edges thereof, and is arranged so as to cooperate with and hold the slider part 9 between them. They are parallel and facing each other. That is, the shutter plate portions 10a and 10b are separated by a gap approximately corresponding to the thickness of the cartridge 2,
They are parallel and facing each other.

The slider portion 9 has a protruding portion 9a integrally formed so as to extend on one side in the longitudinal direction. This protruding portion 9a is formed into a rectangular plate shape having a width approximately half the width of the slider portion 9. This protruding portion 9a corresponds to each of the shutter plate portions 10a, 1
It is made to protrude to one side from the side edge of 0b. One end side of the second shutter plate portion 10a supported by the slider portion 9 is directed toward the connecting portion with the slider portion 9, corresponding to the slider portion 9 having the protruding portion 9a. It is being gradually expanded.

An insertion plate portion 11 is provided on the protruding portion 9a. The insertion plate portion 11 is perpendicular to the protruding portion 9a and parallel to the shutter plate portions 10a, 10b, and extends toward the other free end side of the shutter plate portions 10a, 10b. Plate portion 10a, 1
It has a length shorter than 0b and is provided protrudingly. Further, this insertion plate portion 11 is connected to each of the shutter plate portions 10a and 10b.
It is provided on a plane that is approximately midway between the planes that include the plane. This insertion plate portion 11 is provided with a projection piece 11a for shutter opening operation. This shutter opening projecting piece is perpendicular to the insertion plate part 11 and parallel to the slider part 9, and is arranged to be parallel to the second shutter plate part 10.
It protrudes toward the b side.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a support is provided near one side edge of the lower main surface portion 5a of the cartridge 2 on the widened end side of the first shutter plate portion 10a. A pair of engaging claws 13, 13 and a pair of engaging protrusions 18, 18 that engage with the groove portion 12 are provided. The support groove 12 is formed in a direction along one side edge of the lower half 5. The pair of engaging claws 13, 13 are arranged in the first
It is provided by so-called cut-and-raised formation from a part of the shutter plate portion 10a. Further, the pair of engagement protrusions 18, 18 are provided by forming a portion of the first shutter plate portion 10a to bulge.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the shutter member 8 is assembled into the cartridge 2 by engaging the engaging claws 13, 13 and the engaging protrusions 18, 18 with the support groove 12. The slider portion 9 is brought into approximate contact with one side surface portion, the first shutter plate portion 10a is aligned with the lower main surface portion 5a, and the second shutter plate portion 10b is placed along the upper main surface portion 4a. It is supported by the cartridge 3 along the . At this time, the insertion plate portion 11 is
It is inserted into a shutter opening operation groove 14 formed on one side of the cartridge 2 in a direction along one edge of the cartridge 2 . This shutter opening operation groove 14
is formed to have a width corresponding to the height of the shutter opening operation protrusion 11a. When the shutter member 8 is attached to the cartridge 2, the shutter opening operation protrusion 11a is connected to the shutter opening operation groove 1.
It is inserted within 4.

When this disc cartridge is installed in the disc player, the shutter opening operation pin of this disc player enters into the shutter opening operation groove 14. The shutter opening operation pin presses the shutter opening operation protrusion 11a to move the shutter member 8 relative to the cartridge 2 and open the openings 6a and 6b.

The shutter member 8 is configured such that the engaging claws 13, 13 and the engaging protrusions 18, 18 are slidable along the support groove 12, so that the shutter member 8 can hold the cartridge 2 in place. It is slidable along one side, as shown by arrows D and E in FIG. 1, along the shutter opening operation groove 14. 1st above
The shutter plate portion 10a has a position where the opening 6a for the optical pickup device shown in FIG. 3 is closed by sliding the shutter member 8 relative to the cartridge 2, and a position where the opening 6a for the optical pickup device shown in FIG. The lid can be slid to the opening position. Further, like the first shutter plate part 10a, the second shutter plate part 10b is also in a position where the magnetic head device opening 6b is closed by sliding the shutter member 8 with respect to the cartridge 2. , and a position where the magnetic head device opening 6b is opened. The sliding direction of the shutter member 8 is parallel to the direction in which the disc cartridge is inserted into the disc player device, as indicated by arrow B in FIGS. 1 to 3. Note that the protruding portion 9a is such that the respective shutter plate portions 10a, 10b are connected to the respective openings 6a, 10b.
The openings 6a and 6b are provided so as to protrude toward the respective openings 6a and 6b when the lid 6b is opened.

Further, a locking member 15 is provided inside the cartridge 2. As shown in FIG. This locking member 15 is formed into an arm shape from a material such as a synthetic resin having flexibility and elasticity, and has one end fixed and supported within the cartridge 2, and the other end connected to the groove for opening the shutter. It is expected to arrive within 14 days. At the other end of the locking member 15 facing into the shutter opening operation groove 14, a hooking portion 15a is provided toward the outside of the cartridge 2. When the shutter member 8 is in a position to close each of the openings 6a and 6b, the locking portion 15a allows the insertion plate portion 11 to open the shutter by the elastic force of the locking member 15. engages with a recessed recess 21 provided on the inward end side of the groove 14;
The shutter member 8 is locked in the closed position.

When this disc cartridge is installed in the disc player device, the shutter opening operation pin of the disc player device that has entered the shutter opening operation groove portion 14 locks the other end of the locking member 15. The cartridge 2 is pressed inward to cause it to elastically deform, thereby unlocking the shutter member 8.

Furthermore, the slider portion 9 is provided with a hole 17 for shutter closing operation. This shutter-closing operation hole 17 is for inserting and engaging a shutter-closing operation pin of the disc player device to move the shutter member 8 in the lid-closing direction. The cartridge 2 has a groove 14 for opening the shutter.
An operation pin escape groove 16 is provided along the movement locus of the shutter lid closing operation hole 17. This operation pin escape groove 16 is provided to prevent the shutter lid closing operation pin inserted into the shutter lid closing operation hole 17 from coming into contact with the cartridge 2 .

In the disk cartridge according to the present invention constructed as described above, when not in use, the shutter member 8 is connected to each of the shutter plates 10a, 10b.
The openings 6a, 6b are closed to prevent dust, fingers, etc. from entering the cartridge 2 through the openings 6a, 6b.

[0035] When in use, this disc cartridge is installed in the disc player device. At this time, the shutter member 8 is opened to the lock member 1 by a shutter opening operation pin of the disc player device or the like.
5 is released, the openings 6a and 6b are moved in the direction of opening them as shown by arrow D in FIG. 1, and the openings 6a and 6b are opened as shown in FIG. Open the lid. At this time, information signals can be written to and/or read from the disk 1 through the openings 6a and 6b.

In the shutter member 8 of this disc cartridge, the slider portion 9 has the protruding portion 9a, so that the slider portion 9 is attached to one side edge of the cartridge 2 as shown by arrows D and E in FIG. along the direction, i.e.
The length of each shutter plate portion 10 in the slidable direction is
It is made longer than the length in the direction along the one side edge of a, 10b, that is, the length in the slidable direction. Also,
One end side portion of the first shutter plate portion 10a is widened to correspond to the slider portion 9, and the engaging projections 18, 18 are widened to correspond to the slider portion 9.
The distance between them can be made longer than the length of each of the shutter plate parts 10a, 10b in the slidable direction. Therefore, even if the shutter member 8 is slid by receiving a moving operation force from the slider section 9 by the disc player device, the shutter member 8 will not be able to move due to the frictional force between the shutter plate sections 10a, 10b and the cartridge 2. The occurrence of tilting with respect to the sliding direction is suppressed.

The shutter member in the disc cartridge according to the present invention is constructed such that the slider portion 9 has the protruding portion 9a only on one side, as in the shutter member 8 shown in the above-described embodiment. but not limited to. That is, the shutter member may be configured such that the slider portion 9 not only has the protrusion 9a on one side, but also has a second protrusion on the other side. This second protrusion is similar to the protrusion 9a described above, and the slider portion 9
It is formed into a rectangular plate shape having approximately half the width of the portion between the shutter plate portions 10a and 10b. This second
The protruding portion is made to protrude to the other side from the side edge portions of each of the shutter plate portions 10a and 10b.

Furthermore, the disk cartridge according to the present invention is not limited to a disk cartridge constructed using a so-called magneto-optical disk, as shown in the above-mentioned embodiments, but can also be constructed using an optical disk or a magnetic disk. It can also be configured as a disk cartridge.

[0039]

As described above, in the disc cartridge according to the present invention, a shutter member is connected to one side surface of the cartridge housing the disc so as to be slidable in a direction along one side edge of the cartridge. The part has a protruding part that protrudes in a slidable direction, and the length in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge is longer than the length in the direction along the one side edge of the shutter plate part of the shutter member. The insertion plate provided on the protrusion is inserted into a groove provided on one side of the cartridge for support.

Therefore, in this disk cartridge, even if the shutter member is slid along one side edge of the cartridge by receiving a moving operation force from the connecting portion, the shutter plate portion and the cartridge are not connected to each other. This prevents the shutter member from tilting in the sliding direction due to frictional force between the two.

Further, in the shutter member of the disk cartridge, the length of the connecting portion in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge is longer than the length of the shutter plate portion in the direction along the one side edge. Therefore, even in the case where a so-called punching process or the like is used to construct the shutter plate from a plate-shaped member, the shutter plate portion can be easily formed into a flat plate-shaped member.

That is, the present invention makes it possible to downsize the shutter plate portion of the shutter member and downsize the cartridge without making manufacturing difficult, and the sliding of the shutter member relative to the cartridge is facilitated. It is possible to provide a disc cartridge.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a disk cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the disc cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the configuration of the disk cartridge, viewed from the bottom side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge, viewed from the bottom side, showing a state in which the shutter member is opened.

5 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the main part taken along the line AA' in FIG. 2, showing a broken structure of the main part of the disk cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Disc 2...Cartridge 6a...
...Optical pickup device opening 6b...
......Opening section 8 for magnetic head device...
...Shutter member 9...
Slider part 9a...Protruding part

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A disk; storing the disk;
a cartridge having first and second recording/reproducing openings that allow at least a portion of both main surfaces of the disk to face outward; and a first shutter corresponding to the first recording/reproducing opening. a plate portion, a second shutter plate portion corresponding to the second recording/reproducing opening, and a connecting portion connecting the proximal ends of the first and second shutter plate portions;
a shutter member, the connecting portion being slidably supported by one side of the cartridge in a direction along one side edge of the cartridge, and opening and closing the first and second recording/reproducing openings; The connecting portion has a protruding portion that protrudes in a slidable direction, and the length in the direction along one side edge of the cartridge is longer than the length in the direction along the one side edge of each of the shutter plate portions. A disk cartridge which is elongated and is supported by inserting an insertion plate portion provided on the protruding portion into a groove portion provided on one side of the cartridge.